Our clinical column: The benefits of breastfeeding | News and events

This month, we marked World Breastfeeding Week (1-7 August).

It was an opportunity to focus on the benefits of breastfeeding your baby. The theme this year was ‘making a difference to working parents’.

As part of the event, our baby friendly champion team (pictured) held a special event on the Neonatal Unit on 2 August. They invited breastfeeding parents in their care to join them and shared information on feeding cues, responsive feeding, baby behaviour and supported them with co-parenting strategies on breastfeeding.

Some of the benefits of breastfeeding, if you choose or are able to feed your baby this way, are:

• your breast milk meets all of your baby’s nutritional needs
• breast milk protects your baby from infections and diseases
• breastfeeding provides health benefits for you
• breast milk is available for your baby whenever your baby needs it
• breastfeeding can build a strong emotional bond between you and your baby

Breastfeeding has long-term benefits for your baby, lasting right into adulthood.

Any amount of breast milk has a positive effect. The longer you breastfeed, the longer the protection lasts and the greater the benefits.

Breastfeeding can help to reduce your baby's risk of:

• infections, with fewer visits to hospital as a result
• diarrhoea and vomiting, with fewer visits to hospital as a result
• sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)
• obesity
• cardiovascular disease in adulthood

Giving nothing but breast milk is recommended for about the first 6 months (26 weeks) of your baby's life.

After that, giving your baby breast milk alongside solid foods for as long as you and your baby want will help them grow and develop healthily.

Breast milk adapts as your baby grows to meet your baby's changing needs.

Health benefits of breastfeeding for you

Breastfeeding and making breast milk also has health benefits for you. The more you breastfeed, the greater the benefits.

Breastfeeding lowers your risk of:

• breast cancer
• ovarian cancer
• osteoporosis (weak bones)
• cardiovascular disease
• obesity

For more information, please visit www.nhs.uk.

Best wishes

Clare Abela

Neonatal infant feeding lead